PHILADELPHIA – A year later, back in the NCAA Tournament, Creighton’s Ethan Wragge vividly remembers the play that transformed him from anonymous sharpshooter to reviled hatchet man in the eyes of some North Carolina basketball fans.

Kendall Marshall was dribbling through the Bluejays’ pressing defense.

What happened next – Wragge’s foul on the driving Marshall, who then broke his wrist while trying to brace his fall to the court – became both memorable and contentious.

Here’s how the Creighton forward described it Saturday, as his team prepared to meet Duke in tonight’s Midwest Region matchup at Wells Fargo Center.

“He had a pretty wide-open layup and he was just changing sides of the court,” Wragge said. “His momentum was carrying him right. I was coming over to try to make sure that we didn’t give up an easy layup and get down even more.

“When you’re momentum’s carrying you like that, that’s how it happened. It was nothing malicious. When you catch yourself like that, you can hurt yourself.”

Meanwhile, Marshall’s broken wrist left the Tar Heels without their indispensible distributor and floor leader in their Sweet 16 victory against Ohio and Elite Eight loss to Kansas.

And in certain circles, that injury – which ultimately ended the two-season college career of Marshall, who jumped to the NBA – cast Wragge as the villain who derailed a potential national championship run.

He said when Creighton’s return flight landed in Omaha, Neb., he felt the varying reaction online. He was despised by some. To others, though, he was a sympathetic figure.

“There was a lot of mentions on my Twitter account, from North Carolina fans upset,” Wragge said. “And then there was a lot of Omaha people who were supportive. It was both sides.

“I didn’t say anything for a bit. I just tried to let it slide by. It was a month-long thing.”

Wragge said he hasn’t contacted Marshall about the play. He said Creighton coach Greg McDermott did speak with North Carolina coach Roy Williams on the subject.

“It was a play on the ball,” Wragge said. “I hope everyone can see that now.”

A junior this season, Wragge provides production off the bench as Creighton’s sixth man. His 78 buckets from 3-point range lead the team. He hit four 3s Friday in the Bluejays’ NCAA Tournament opener, a 67-63 victory against Cincinnati.

He also has dealt with his own wrist injury, suffering two bone bruises against Drake in the Missouri Valley Conference, the result of a fall to the court similar to Marshall’s.

Wragge understands his name still elicits venom among North Carolina’s fan base. But tonight, maybe he can change some of those perceptions.

Page 2 of 2 - After all, Creighton is playing Duke, the Tar Heels’ archrival.